Knightsville

Choo.....choo. The armoured train chugged along the metal tracks as it approached the next station. Ethan sat inside an empty compartment with his palms placed together. This was it. He was going to Knightsville. Everything would change today. He took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself.

Ethan was wearing a skin tight combat suit, a model that most G rank gatekeepers preferred. His pocket contained a combat knife- the same one that he was training with this entire month. He unsheathed the knife as he traced its grooves with his fingers.

Ethan was scared. Fear pounded down on him as it made its way to his gut, sapping his limbs of any strength. This was a risky mission. Knightsville was a dangerous area occupied by G rank and F rank monsters. With his current ability, he could take on a group of four to five goblins or centipedes, but even a single F rank monster was capable of killing him.

Screech. The train slowed down as it neared a station. Ethan got off the train unsteadily. His legd felt a bit weak because of how nervous he was feeling. He shook his head. This was his chance to escape, to become stronger. He couldn't give up now. He tightened the straps of his backpack as he walked towards Knightsville.

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Swish! Slash! Ethan slashed at some leaves as he made his way through a crowded forest. The station he was dropped off at was around a kilometre away from Knightsville. It was probably built to aid the investigation taking place here. A tragedy as large as ragnarok wasn't something that could be ignored so easily. Also, the fact that giants had randomly targeted a settlement for no reason was a bit strange, though not entirely impossible.

Ethan walked into a clearing. The forest ended here. He could see a few houses with their roofs caved in. He was close. His heart pounded as he moved forward. Monsters could appear anywhere. From now on, he was entering a Class G disaster area. He unsheathed his knife as he held it backwards, preparing to slash anything that came his way.

Ethan felt a chill in the air. Was this a result of his nerves? No. It was something else. He gripped his knife tighter as he moved forward- and was shocked by what he saw. It was a gruesome sight. An empty field lay in front of him, full of frozen corpses. Their faces were stuck in expressions of horror, as if they were being chased by something. These corpses were still frozen even after 10 years. This wasn't normal ice. Most likely, the contamination of mana caused by the giants had persisted for such a long time. And he knew exactly which monster was capable of doing this.

Jofdlar. Who hadn't heard of the terrifying S class ice giant that had lead the attack on Knightsville? Though fire giants were more ferocious than ice giants, none of them could compare to the behemoth that was Jofdlar. Ethan felt sick to his stomach. Such a gruesome sight was enough to make anybody puke. The thought that these statues were once living humans was, well, chilling.

Ethan avoided the statues as he moved along. He didn't want to be close to these corpses any longer. "Kieek...kekeker." He could hear loud voices in the distance. Goblins. Their pungent smell pervaded the air as he ducked behind a rock. The voices grew louder. Slash! Ethan pounced as he aimed for the goblins' eyes. Weeks of fighting against goblins in the VR capsule hadn't been for naught.

The goblin was blinded by blood as it screeched. Ethan ducked another goblins claws as he headed for the most isolated creature. Stab! Schlock! Ethan stabbed its neck and quickly pulled his knife. "Kieeek," screamed the goblin as it clutched its neck. He jumped over the goblin, using its shoulders as a foothold as he pounced on another goblin. Stab! He stabbed its head with considerable force, aided by the jump. He slashed another goblin's eyes as all four goblins fell to the floor screaming.

Ethan ended their lives as he wiped the blood off his face. Scum. These goblins were nothing more than scum. After seeing the corpses of Knightsville's poor residents, he needed something else to do, something to make him forget their faces. These vile goblins were perfect sandbags for his source of disgust.

Crunch! Crunch! Ethan trampled on some leaves as he pulled out a map. He was close. Very close. He circled around a house as he made his way to the centre of the city. Suddenly, Ethan was knocked back by waves of mana.

Vrooooom. He could hear the sounds of a truck in the distance. He dashed behind a pillar as he hid himself. There were people here! What were they doing here? Was it related to the wave of magical energy he had just felt? Nobody was supposed to find about the pit until two years later!

Ethan glanced as the truck. No. They weren't heading towards the pit. But that made the matter all the more strange. Who were these people? What were they doing here? What was the pulse he had just felt? "Damn it! We have to do this shit every year! Who the hell's gonna come around snooping in this graveyard of a city," growled a blonde, heavyset man wearing sunglasses. "The Church doesn't pay you to complain. They pay you to wipe out the magical residue. So shut up and do what you were told. Amen," rasped a man wearing a large black coloured robe.

The Church? Who were The Church? The book hadn't mentioned anything about such an organisation. Ethan stared at the men as they worked on something. The blonde-haired guy pulled out a device that looked like a lantern. Click! He pressed a button on its base and thrust it towards the floor. Schwop! A loud sucking noise could be heard. The waves of mana present in the atmosphere disappeared as they were sucked into the device.

"There! We're done. Now nobody's gonna find out about your little crystal for another year." The blonde guy sighed. He pulled out a phone. "Yeah. The job's done. The crystal's been contained for about a year. Yeah, nobody saw us. Yeah. Yeah. Alright." Click! The man turned off the phone. "Let's go," he barked. The pair got into the truck. Whoosh! The truck soared into the air as it left Knightsville.

Ethan stepped out as he stared at the place where the two men had just been. They were talking about a crystal. What was it? Was it related to the pit where Noah gained his powers? Or were they two unrelated events? And who were the Church? It didn't seem like the two guys were doing something legal right now. Whatever. Getting into stuff like that was bound to bite him in the back one day. He put all thoughts of those men aside as he headed towards the pit.

Tap....tap....tap. Ethan walked through a large building. His heart pounded. Ba-dump....Ba-dump....Ba-dump. The pit was here. Right in the centre of the building. Small magical ripples poured out as they lightly swept him off his feet. He peered into the hole. It looked bottomless pit and was just wide enough to accommodate a large man.

Ethan let down a small rope as he headed down. Suddenly, an especially large ripple hit him. Snap! He let go of the rope....and didn't fall? No. He was falling. Just incredibly slowly. He slowly floated downwards while lightly touching the rope. TAP! The sound of his feet hitting the ground echoed as he reached the floor.

Beep..beep..beep. A mechanical hum rang out. Suddenly, the entire cave lit up. Ethan stared at his surroundings. He was in the centre of a large circular room, built out of grey stone. The room contained several torches that were bolted to the walls, giving it an eerie look. This was it- the place where Noah had fallen.

Ethan walked towards a torch and yanked it sideways. Rocks slid apart to reveal a narrow archway. Tap....tap....tap. His footsteps echoed as he trudged forwards. Ba-dump....ba-dump....ba-dump. His heart pounded as he made his way through the narrow passage. Perhaps it was a premonition of the things to come.

The passageway widened as Ethan stepped into a large throne room. A large throne of bones stood in the centre of the room- the place where Noah had battled to earn his system. There was blood splashed all around it, traces left by a gruesome battle. Ethan probably couldn't sit on the throne even if he wanted to. Probably because Noah was the lucky guy who inherited its powers.

The throne wasn't the only thing present though. Two statues were present on each side of the room, surrounded by a large variety of creatures. These were fantasy creatures- proud ice elves, strong fire giants, large one-eyed winged cyclopes and cloaked crowmen. These weren't monsters- at least, they didn't appear in gates- except for the fire giants.

Fire type creatures were among the worst monsters that could be found in any dungeon- they had no instincts and did not care for their lives. They simply engaged in mindless slaughter. A chill ran down Ethan's spine. He hoped he wouldn't come across any fire type creatures. Even a fire goblin, or an imp as it was commonly referred to, wasn't something he could handle.

Ethan stared at the statue surrounded by the terrible creatures. A one-eyed horned creature with a long tail stood proud. It's thick arms and bulky figure gave it a sense of majesty, as if it was a divine being or something. What was that creature? The 'boss' of all fire type creatures? He didn't want to meet such a terrible existence, one that commanded living kamikaze pilots. He silently hoped that it was dead.

Ironically, this devil was the source of the pathway that Ethan needed to go through. He sighed. "Oh great mercator, ruler of all judgements and trades, please allow this lowly self to trade with thy greatness." Evidently, the guy who built this place had a high sense of self-esteem. The one-eyed devil's body split open to reveal a room.

Ethan stared at the statue that would decide his fate. The mercator. Latin for merchant. That was what this guy called himself. He was in the form of a statue of a hooded young man placed on a pedestal. Both of his eyes were closed. One of his hands held a weighing balance, while another tightly clutched a pouch of coins. He stared at the statue as his heart started pounding again. Ba-dump....ba-dump....ba-dump.

"Alright, merchant," smirked Ethan. "Let's trade!"